Teaching Tree is a free resource for learning about computer science. View videos organized into five categories with dozens of topics inside each category. Main categories include Algorithms and Data Structures, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Databases, Graphics and Animation, and Programming Languages. Most topics have 10+ specific lessons. University professors provide most videos that are a mix of short and long tutorials. Find tags within the longer videos to key concepts that they contain. Clicking on a tag jumps you to the spot in the lecture that addresses the concept you want to learn about.

In the Classroom

Use Teaching Tree as a great resource for students who want to learn about computer science on their own. This is a great tool to share with students considering a major in computer science in college or wondering about computer careers. If you teach computer science courses, Teaching Tree could be useful for locating review materials to share with your students. You may also consider having your students search for or create videos to share on Teaching Tree and then tag them to help other people learn from their work. Use a tool such as SchoolTube reviewed here.

Looking for a way to add challenges to your middle school math curriculum or gifted classes? Try Figure This, a site of math challenges developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Figure This offers a number of challenges in English and Spanish to be used in a classroom or offered to families for math challenges at home. A PowerPoint is included to help increase parent involvement. Learn why most manholes are round, how fast your heart beats, and numerous other interesting topics. At the time of this review, there were 80 "Challenges" to explore. All of high interest and intriguing topics! Although mainly math activity, many border on science topics as well. Each activity offers hints and answers explained in many ways. Finding the answer is rather tricky! Scroll to the bottom of the page and look for the link to Answer. Don't miss the Teachers Corner. It includes all beginning materials; PowerPoints, forms, and ideas you need to begin!

In the Classroom

In the classroom, use Figure This to help differentiate instruction for all levels, especially the high-achievers and gifted students. Allow students to work independently, or work in pairs to solve challenges. Introduce the challenge on your interactive whiteboard projector. Then allow students to dive into the challenge! Use for gifted enrichment, or even a Math Challenge Day for a reward. Offer extra credit for the number of challenges solved. Use as a model to allow students to create their own challenges. Add to your website as a fun resource for students and families.

Listen to soundscapes recorded all over the world. Find a place of interest on the map, listen to the recording, and read the information about the location. Upload your own soundscapes using the site or through the iPhone/iPad app.

In the Classroom

Those who teach geography and world cultures will like this! Use this resource to get your students thinking about the sounds around them. Include it when studying sound or the human ear in science class. Connect with other subjects by envisioning smells that would be there or craft a story inspired by the sounds heard at a specific location. Play sounds for your younger students and ask what they hear. Create sound stories together -- or as a creative project --by playing a series of sounds to tell the tale! Use your imagination to add this resource to other location projects used throughout the year. World language teachers could assign students to create a sound and word story about a cultural location. Use these sounds as background and add the dialog!

Math Monday is a weekly column discussing fun, experiential, and puzzling topics in mathematics. Each article takes a math idea, explains the concept, and uses images (and/or videos) to put the concept into action. Sample topics include hula hoop geometry, large stars, mathematical quilting, and much more. Subscribe to the RSS feed to view new topics each Monday using the link at the top of the page. (Or add the feed to your Flipboard account if you have a tablet.) There is also a very long list of archives to explore and try!

In the Classroom

Share articles with students and replicate activities included in the article. Share the video demonstrations on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create videos after reading articles and attempting activities. Share the videos on a site such as TeacherTube reviewed here. Use activities in the article as inspiration for Math night activities or Math Fair projects.

Use this tool to find the median household income of the US by each Census tract. Search by city or state. Or click the "little orange man" and drag him to the location you want to view on the US map. You will be taken to "Street View" (see the street up close) to view the income for that exact block. Find the median income by color blocks.

In the Classroom

Propose reasons for the differences in median income in a particular area or state. Research industry, agriculture, level of education, and other factors to determine the reasons. Investigate at the nearby ports and natural resources. Why do certain parts of the country have higher incomes and/or costs of living? How is income connected to education level? Students can identify patterns that exist among the data. They can form hypotheses about why. Create a campaign to bridge the wage gap by suggesting ideas to increase salaries in areas. Have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Easel.ly, reviewed here or Venngage reviewed here. Teachers of gifted will find "rich" possibilities for discussion from this site.

Join Jackie, Matt, and Inez in the PBS world of Cyberchase, using the magical powers of math and science to take adventures. The "Motherboard" heads the team against the evils of the universe, Hacker. Visit "Games" to find interactives. There are printables found at the "Activities" link. And finally, watch different episodes (see Video) of Cyberchase to practice various math skills. After the show, find links to the math presented in the show. Examples of content topics include: fractions, geometry, math, weather, money, problem solving, using data, using numbers, science and engineering, pre-algebra, measurement, math and sports, and geometry.

In the Classroom

Introduce math concepts in a unique way, using Cyberchase adventures on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use this site at your centers/stations to practice, use, and apply math and science skills. Put a link on your class website for students to use for review, reinforcement, and enrichment.

Practice your multiplication skills using this comprehensive site including games, tips, tricks, free worksheets, quizzes, flash cards, and bingo cards. There are also addition and subtraction activities. Discover a multiplication table that has a picture with a story for every multiplication fact. Listen to a story about every fact. Beginning (or struggling) learners will benefit from the plethora of multiplication activities that will interest, intrigue, and motivate the varied style of learners in your classroom.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector when introducing new facts. Use this site at centers or as a homework activity. Find all necessary tools for your class including flashcards, quizzes, practice sheets, and bingo cards. Motivate your reluctant learner as well as add challenge to gifted learners. Give this site to parents as a resource to practice multiplication at home.

Join Ruff Ruffman in the PBS Kids Game show, Fetch. Learn about animal science as you view (and participate) on this educational game show including 5 contestants ages 10-14. "Ruff" hosts the game show, reality style with children contestants, learning about science and also crazy challenges. Topics include (but are not limited to) animals, engineering, deserted islands, dinosaur footprints, hover crafts, mummies, song birds, and more. There are past episodes and games available.

In the Classroom

Invite Ruff Ruffman into your classroom to add spice to your science, language arts, and math curriculum. Although contestants are ages 10-14, younger students would benefit by watching the activities. Some may be too challenging for younger students to complete on their own. Students will identify with the contestants as they learn and laugh along with Ruff. Add a Ruff adventure or interview as an anticipatory guide for a unit. Share a clip or experiment on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use as a way to enrich during your unit on mammals, motion, or problem solving. Have older elementary students (or middle school) become familiar with the show's format, and create an "episode" based on your unit of study. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create videos to share using a site such as TeacherTube reviewed here. Create a writing experience from episodes given. Use an episode as a spark to begin a further area of inquiry. Add to your computers as a center time activity, or even as a special earned award. Share on your website as an enrichment source, or a great place for educational learning.

Join Martha (the dog) from the book and animated children's series, Martha Speaks. This interactive website focuses on vocabulary and word usage. The site includes interactives, printables, videos, and "Martha's Stories" for students to explore. Make newspapers, dog tags, vocabulary word pictures, and more. Vocabulary introduced are not necessarily sight words, yet specialized content area words. Apply and learn new vocabulary in a wide variety of interactive ways. Some game features require Shockwave and/or a webcam. Don't worry. It does not keep your picture.

In the Classroom

Intrigue your students to follow the dog, Martha, into new vocabulary learning. Share a book (or video of the show) with your students before introducing this site. Students from Kindergarten through second grade will benefit from the variety of learning activities. Add this site to your centers for an engaging way to learn vocabulary. Add this link to your class website for review or enrichment.

Stacy at "Thirty Something and Fabulous" has taken Marzano's rework of Bloom's Taxonomy and created questions that "address all the literary elements as well as purpose and style" for all levels and categories on the taxonomy. Use these questions with any type of reading. They are downloadable (with credit) from her blog. With Common Core and its emphasis on critical thinking and reading nonfiction, these questions are helpful. This review is for the May 17, 2012 blog entry only. TeachersFirst feels this blog post was valuable for teaching. The remainder of the blog is off topic and not a part of this review.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

If you like to compare fiction or poetry with nonfiction, you can choose a few of these questions for students to answer for both pieces. Then ask students to compare which answers are similar and different for both pieces, and why that happens. If you would like to start pairing fiction with nonfiction you can start by using a site such as Earth Care reviewed here. You will find a link for Focus on Books that has lessons for The Lorax, Diary of a Worm, and several others.

If your students write in reading journals, you may want to assign a few of these questions as prompts for reflection. Challenge your students to think of additional writing prompts following this same pattern.

IFTTT is a service that connects and consolidates social media tools. With this service, you can browse "recipes" for having social tools interact with each other. Some examples are: text the morning weather, send free nook books from Barnes and Noble to your Gmail account, send the iTunes app of the week to your email, or download videos you like to your Dropbox. Create your own recipes to help you make life easier by having one social media communicate with another.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

IFTTT can make recipes for students and teachers alike. Teachers can drop photos into Dropbox and automatically send them to a place they have chosen. This will help save time with classroom photos, field trips, and other events. Be reminded of birthdays for students and friends. Send amazing professional website bookmarks to your Gmail. Older students can receive emails or text messages about classes, tests, quizzes. Students can receive immediate feedback when they turn in assignments. Add tweeting to students' own personal learning networks. Have technology classes find unique and creative ways to create recipes to save time and improve productivity. What kind of recipes can you create? Hold an IFTTT "potluck" where you and your savvy colleagues (and students) swap "recipes" to save time and effort. Invite more savvy students to share a recipe a week with fellow students. The better-organized ones can perhaps teach others how to become more organized!

Dance, Factors, Dance is a wonderful visual display of numbers and factors. The numbers begin at 0 and continue through 10,000. Each number displays as a visual image sorted by factors, or in one large group if prime. At the top of the screen, the actual digits show along with the factorization represented. For example, 10,000 displays as 5X5X5X5X2X2X2X2 with a beautiful star-like image. Speed up the dance or stop at any given point using icons (at the bottom of the page) or go backwards to watch numbers unfold.

In the Classroom

This is an excellent visualization tool for demonstrating factors and prime numbers. View as a class on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) and explore the different patterns displayed. Have students watch for patterns as numbers grow, or question what happens when numbers are odd or even. Have students explore the site on their own; then use as a journal prompt for students to discuss their exploration of numbers. Ask students how they visualize numbers in their own heads. You may be surprised to learn that some students have visual images of number concepts! Teachers of gifted or visually talented students may want to ask them to create their own "visualizations" of numbers using an animation tool from the Edge.

iFakeText is a tool to create fake screenshots of a series of iPhone text messages. Write a name, then choose an operator and write text in the provided box. Click the link "Create your Screenshot" to view the picture. Have the operator READ the text message (great for non-readers). Take a screenshot or share via different social networking platforms or via a link.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Have two characters from a book or two famous people text each other. Create short poetry using this tool. Provide some opening text and ask students to write their guesses of the other person's answers. Have students practice a dialogue or questions and answers. Create a fake text of a conversation and have students use inference skills to state what happened before and after the conversation. You could even use it as a writing prompt. Teach important texting etiquette using this tool. Use a fake text on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to display word definitions in a fun way. Use this site with your ESL/ELL students (or those learning to read) and have the site READ the text to the students. The ability to use the "text to speech" makes this an easy tool for any age student to try! Tear down the boundaries of delayed reading. Create fake texts of homework or project reminders and post them on your class wiki or web page.

Find a mystery in art, and use art to solve the mystery. Tour American paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts that reside at The Metropolitan Museum of Art to solve the murder of Virginie Gautreau AKA Madame X, painted by John Singer Sargent. The scenario is an evening gala in 1899, and you put clues together using either your mobile devices or a computer. Players must examine the art work since you are witnesses. There are possible weapons and crime scenes. There are three possible avenues to take to reach the solution, so the game can be played multiple times.

In the Classroom

Whether teaching art history or a unit on mysteries and deductive reasoning, students will learn from using this program. Though there is a place for students to keep notes, they should also keep their own notes about the clues, especially why they chose the ones they mark "highly suspicious." Use a tool like Memo Notepad, reviewed here, for digital note taking. If you and your students liked this site you might also enjoy "Mysterious Places: Ancient Civilizations Modern Mysteries," reviewed here, with its lovely photographs to go along with the mysteries. A natural follow up would be to have your students write their own mysteries. "Mystery Writing Lesson Plans," reviewed here, is just the place to give you some ideas! Challenge gifted students to create similar mysteries using subject matter in any science or social studies class.

ReadWorks provides a free, research-based, and Common Core-aligned reading comprehension curriculum. Search through hundreds of lesson plans organized by grade level, topic, or titles. Register to download materials and save lessons to your folder. (A valid email and password is required). Be sure to start with the Teacher Guide to see all the many features ReadWorks offers about using and teaching the provided lessons and differentiation. For a quick start, click Find Content then select options from the right menu: Text Options - Reading Passages, Aritcle a Day, and Paired Text, Curriculum Support, Grade, Topic, Text Types - Nonfiction, Fiction, or Poetry, and Lexile. There are thousands of reading passages along with question sets to support learning activities for grades K-12. Each selection contains the text with audio, a vocabulary link, and a questions set. In the left margin, you will find related resources such as standards and related materials.

Teachers can create classes to assign reading and track assessments (which are automatically graded). After signing up with email, click on Admin from the top menu and create a class. Students join the class by using a code and their Google account. No Google account? No problem. Create a roster and provide the class code to students. Easily create assignments for the whole class, or individuals as a way to differentiate.

In the Classroom

Show students how to sign up and log into ReadWorks using a projector or interactive whiteboard. Complete a sample assignment together. Use ReadWorks in blended learning or flipped classrooms leaving class time for asking questions and clarifying. Post the link on your website and consider assigning the Article-A-Day for at home reading. Rotate the subjects weekly and discuss the topic the next day in class. Consider using a back channel tool such as GoSoapBox, reviewed here, for the discussion, so even your quiet and shy students feel comfortable participating, and you can get analytics after the discussion. Teachers of all subjects, but especially science and social studies, can find topics for students to read for their subject. Then challenge students to research the topic further. Redefine learning by having students submit their findings to a special class magazine using Underline, reviewed here, created for the topic. Differentiation can be accomplished easily by assigning to individual students, or you can create multiple classes, which would actually be small groups, who read at the same level or have the same topic interest.

Once the students are familiar with the site use Symbaloo Learning Paths, reviewed here, to assign reading to groups at the same reading level. Older students, once they know their reading level, can their select reading and create their own Symbaloo Learning Paths. Check these to make sure students include all types of reading, and that they are challenging themselves. After several selections, ask older students to choose the topic they were most interested in, find resources to learn more about the topic, then transform their learning by presenting their findings using a multimedia tool such as (click on the tool name to access the review): Canva Infographic Creator, Lucidpress, Powtoon, and Biteable.

Urgent Evoke is an online video game designed to help individuals across the world develop innovative, creative solutions to the globe's most pressing social problems. It also helps to develop ten much-needed skills: collaboration, courage, creativity, entrepreneurship, local insight, knowledge sharing, resourcefulness, spark/example setting, sustainability, and vision. Unlike most typical online video games, accepting the mission on Urgent Evoke does not bring players to a new, simulated world within which to complete that mission. Rather, players act on the mission within their own communities and document efforts with video, photos, or a blog post. Be sure to watch the "How to Play" videos to get a full overview of the concept and how to play games.

In the Classroom

Use Urgent Evoke to stimulate innovation and creativity among students. Have students work in teams or individually to move through the ten-week game and complete missions. Provide context for the game and supplement with real-life encounters with activists, business people, and creative thinkers who are working to address these same problems in their own lives. Students don't have to play the whole game, choose missions that are appropriate to your classroom learning goals to present as problem solving and creative thinking activities. Teachers of gifted could use this game as a basis for a semester of intense projects.

How do you know when you're happy? What's one bad habit that makes you miserable? Find open-ended questions on Thought Questions daily. A gorgeous photograph complements each question. The site provides a space for you to answer these questions online or not. Maximize the benefits of self-reflection by taking the time to think! Visit this site daily, weekly, or monthly. There are over 900 questions and photos to contemplate, and they post a new one daily. There are advertisements between pictures, but their arrangement is such that they are not visible on the screen unless you are scrolling through the pictures. The public is able to answer the questions on the site, so you may want to only use this on an adult's computer.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

This is the perfect site to start your students' day or end your day with them. Use these questions as writing prompts or quick writes. You may want to ask students to choose their favorite and form small groups to discuss their answers. Post some of the same questions on bulletin boards. Discussing or debating these questions would be a powerful community builder at the beginning of the year or when forming new small groups. To avoid the advertising, have your question on the screen before projecting it on your screen or whiteboard. IF your class includes gifted students, they may react well to such thought-provokers. Encourage them to collect favorite prompts and responses in a writing journal or "idea bin" to use at times when they are ahead of the class or need extra writing challenges.

Create interactive timelines of geographically-located events on Google Maps and share them on the web for free. Hover over events on the Google map (or use Google Earth) to enlarge and view a summary of relevant information. Click play to scroll through events in chronological order. Create your own or browse many of the timelines on the site. No registration is necessary to view timelines already created by others. Sign up with an email account to create or comment on timelines. Create a new timeline, including a title, select a category, and add as many stops on the timeline as you wish. Share using Facebook, Twitter or an RSS feed. Click "embed/share" to copy a url to share with others or an embed code to use in a blog, wiki, or other site. Choose from three privacy level settings to customize viewing options. Be aware: the comments are not moderated, so please preview.

In the Classroom

Consider creating a class account with a single login and password. Ask students to initial their timelines as well to indicate ownership. There are many ways to include this in class. Every topic in history, literature, sciences, and the arts has dates and recorded events. Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to learn about the history of the Olympics, famous people, events, literature, and more. Have students create timelines to share research projects. Use the timeline as a visual tool to discuss events in literary works or the life of a scientist, political figure, or pop artist. Create animal life cycles mapped to their habitat, author or presidential biographies, or even timelines of the events and causes leading to a war. Make a timeline using local, national, or international current events. Elementary students could even interview grandparents and create a class timeline about their grandparents' generation for Grandparents' Day. For collaboration, link up with another classroom in another town (or another country) to build a timeline that shares events in each local area so students can see what was happening at the same time in another location (maybe in the opposite hemisphere: compare weather and seasons!) Students can use the timeline as a visual aid during presentations. Student groups can work on different aspects of the same time period to share with the rest of the class. For example, in studying World War II, one student group can create a timeline of Japanese occupation, another of the German occupation, and so forth. The timelines are perfect to share on your interactive whiteboard or projector as well as on a class wiki.

Challenge your gifted students by having them create mapped timelines of contrasts: The life cycles (and locations) of two migrating species, the events leading to the end of World War II in Europe and the Pacific, the lives of two famous Americans from two different centuries. They could embed the results in a wiki page so other students can view and comment (or ask questions).

This CurriConnects list offers books for student independent reading about leaders. This list of leaders includes a wide sampling from politics to literature and the arts to entertainment. CurriConnects thematic book lists include ISBN numbers for ordering or searching, interest grade levels, ESL/ELL levels and Lexiles'® to match student independent reading levels to challenge, not frustrate. Don't miss other CurriConnects themes being added regularly. If your school or public library does not have the books, try an inter-library loan!

In the Classroom

Use this list as you study any topic that features leaders: the founding fathers, famous scientists, and much more. Encourage students to read about leaders in diverse fields - including the one you are studying - to compare and discuss what makes someone a successful leader and why people rise to the top among their peers across time, place, and circumstance. You could also form an afterschool book club around this list or use the nonfiction listings as practice with informational texts.

Set your sights high to learn world languages! Find both visual and audio lessons. Choose a language from Chinese, Dutch, Japanese, Polish, Russian, or Spanish. A list of tutorials appears including the tutorial's author and short description of lessons. Learn colors, counting, days of the week, common phrases, or more challenging language skills. Practice speaking using the microphone tab and say words on your own. Click on the links in the tabs of the tutorials to try the interactives: matching games, flashcards, and tic tac toe.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

This is a wonderful site to use with students to get a taste of other languages, including during study of world geography or cultures. Assign different tutorials that complement classroom activities. Share this site on your class website or blog as a resource for practice at home. Use this site on your interactive whiteboard to introduce and review world language terms. Obviously this site has many uses in the world language classroom. But this tool could also be used as enrichment for students or even an after-school club! Your verbal-linguistic gifted students would also enjoy learning and comparing basics in several languages. If you have ESL/ELL students who speak one of these languages, invite others to learn basics to converse with and respect their peers.